In May, an Asahi Breweries employee works on the production line at a factory in Moriya near Tokyo.

MORIYA, Japan -- Thousands upon thousands of cans are filled with beer, capped and washed, wrapped into six-packs, and boxed at dizzying speeds -- 1,500 a minute, to be exact -- on humming conveyor belts that zip and wind in a sprawling factory near Tokyo.

In May, an Asahi Breweries employee works on the production line at a factory in Moriya near Tokyo.

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There is a work balance with automation, but workers must be ready to accept change and retrain for the new jobs. Most carry the Laverne and Shirley model of employment, hoping to do the same thing for decades and saving for retirement when they can stop doing it. Now we need workers who are ready to shift to a new task when needed, including in the higher skilled areas.